But right now I have some time to kill recovering from a nasal surgery a week ago\u2014I wasn’t able to breathe through my nose for most of the past 5 years, and now I can, thanks to God and medical care!\u00a0 I’m feeling great mentally, I just have low physical energy.\u00a0 So I might try to dig out some old writing and post it now.\u00a0 If it looks like I am suddenly doing a lot more writing, that’s an illusion: I’ll mostly be editing old stuff.\u00a0 But maybe I’ll sneak in a new thing or two to keep you on your toes.<\/p>\n

There also used to be a system to notify people of new posts by email, but it stopped working a while ago.\u00a0 The root cause is that I really need to take the plunge and update WordPress to a much newer version so that I can use plugins that are still being maintained.\u00a0 But I’m a little nervous about losing data so I want to be cautious about it.<\/p>\n

On the morning of my surgery, I only had time to read a single blog post, and I providentially stumbled across the following quotation from the Apocrypha:<\/p>\n

Honor the physician, for he is essential to you;
\nfor that profession was established by the Lord.
\n2 The gift of healing comes from the Most High,
\nand the king provides for the physician\u2019s sustenance.
\n3 His knowledge gives the physician high standing
\nand earns him the admiration of those who are great.
\n4 The Lord has created medicines from the earth,
\nand no one who is sensible will despise them.
\n5 Was not water once sweetened by a tree
\nso that his power might be revealed?
\n6 He has endowed human beings with skill
\nso that he might be glorified in his marvelous works.
\n7 Through them the physician heals and relieves pain,
\n8 and the pharmacist prepares suitable medicines.
\nThus, there is no end to the works of God,
\nfrom whom well-being continues to spread throughout the entire world. (Sirach 38)<\/div>\n

This seemed providentially appropriate in light of the circumstances…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"